Dave's 5 Hot Takes

Join musician and semi-pro comedian, Dave Barnes, as he explores some interesting perspectives on popular music on 5 Hot Takes! On this episode of Season 2, Dave covers some lava hot takes.

Join musician and semi-pro comedian, Dave Barnes, as he explores some interesting perspectives on popular music on 5 Hot Takes! On this episode of Season 2, Dave covers some lava hot takes.

Welcome Back! Join musician and semi-pro comedian, Dave Barnes, as he explores some interesting perspectives on popular music on 5 Hot Takes! On the premiere of Season 2, Dave covers some lava hot takes.

Musician Dave Barnes sits down with singer, songwriter, and record producer, Ben Rector. Dave and Ben catch up and discuss their Christmas musical influences. Listen now to these musically fulfilling takes.

Musician Dave Barnes sits down with the Season 7 winner of Food Network Star and the host of Emmy-nominated series Sandwich King, Jeff Mauro. Dave and Jeff catch up and discuss the musical influences in their lives. We also get to hear Jeff's hot takes on his favorite bridge of all time and who he thinks is the best singer/drummer combo. Listen now to these musically fulfilling takes. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

Join musician and semi-pro comedian, Dave Barnes, as he explores some interesting perspectives on popular music on 5 Hot Takes! On this season finale, Dave covers hot takes on 10 songs he'd send into space.

Part 2 with Ben Rector. Musician Dave Barnes sits down with singer, songwriter, and record producer Ben Rector. Dave and Ben discuss Dave's favorite Ben Rector tracks.

Musician Dave Barnes sits down with singer, songwriter, and record producer, Ben Rector. Dave and Ben catch up and discuss the musical influences in their lives. We also get to hear Ben's hot takes on the best Beatle of all time to current pop music being more performance art more than it is music. Listen now to these musically fulfilling takes.

Part 2 with Claude Kelly. Musician Dave Barnes sits down with singer, songwriter, record producer, and four-time Grammy Award nominee, Claude Kelly. Dave and Claude discuss Dave's favorite Claude Kelly tracks.

Musician Dave Barnes sits down with singer, songwriter, record producer, and four-time Grammy Award nominee, Claude Kelly. Dave and Claude catch up and discuss the musical influences in their lives. We also get to hear Claude's hot takes on the mental jukebox of 5-10 songs that is always in their head to the melody of the song “Rain” by SWV. Listen now to these musically fulfilling takes.

Join musician and semi-pro comedian, Dave Barnes, as he explores some interesting perspectives on popular music on 5 Hot Takes! On this episode, Dave covers hot takes on The Knacks to Cyndi Lauper to Sugar Ray’s “Fly”.

On this episode, Dave covers hot takes on The Temptations to Peter Cetera to Wynona Judd’s “Only Love”. Hot Takes on this episode include: Hot Take 1 - Peter Cetera’s voice in “Glory of Love” really makes the song have a deeper impact.Hot Take 2 - “My Girl” by the Temptations is iconic because you know the song 3 seconds after the song has started. From the bass line to the guitar playing, its so lush and recognizable that it brings life to the song.Hot Take 3 - “Power of Two” by Indigo Girls has such great imagery that takes to you to another level of feeling the intimacy in the song.Hot Take 4 - Wynona Judd’s “Only Love” is a masterclass in songwriting. The chord structures through the song is insanity and so complex.Hot Take 5 - Kate K.S.’s “Waiting” is another song that the musical integrity of the song makes it such a desirable piece of ear candy.

On this episode, Dave covers hot takes on Harry Styles to Train to Whitney Houston.  Hot Takes on this episode include:  Hot Take 1: In “Watermelon Sugar” by Harry Styles, the end of the chorus where the words “watermelon sugar high” are mashed together at a faster pace is the ultimate music-brain payoff.Hot Take 2: In “Drops of Jupiter” by Train the chorus is not the hook. The singeable part of the song is in the turnaround: after every chorus and at the end. Hot Take 3: Eddie Floyd’s “Knock on Wood” is one of the greatest soul songs of all-time. Hot Take 4: “Waiting for a Star to Fall” by Boy Meets Girl is in Dave’s top 20 songs of all-time. It was written by Shannon Rubicam and George Merrill, who also wrote Whitney Houston’s “How Will I Know” and “I Wanna Dance with Somebody”.Hot Take 5: “How Will I Know” by Whitney Houston has a bridge with 12 bars, longer than the usual 8 or 4. Then the song key changes down while Whitney’s vocals go up. This creates a really engaging effect. 

Hot Take 1: Rob- “Carribean Queen” by Billy Ocean is a rip off of “Billie Jean” by Michael Jackson. JP- “Just Like A Pill” by Pink has the most rocking triangle part in music history.Hot Take 2: Rob- “Shameless” by Garth Brooks/Billy Joel doesn’t have a chorus, it just flows from one section to the other. JP-  “I want Jesse Frederick to write the theme song of my life when I die.”Hot Take 3: Rob- “I’ll Stand By You” by the Pretenders has one of the sneakiest key changes of all time, or really two key changes that really change no key at all. JP- The greatest “she-mullet” in the history of rock and roll goes to Pat Benatar.Hot Take 4: Rob- Ram Jam should have either rehearsed more or recorded with a click when they recorded “Black Betty.” JP- “Glycerine” by Bush is the most hard rock song ever to have no drums.Hot Take 5: Rob- To be such a classic song, “Sexual Healing” by Marvin Gaye is not very good. JP- The greatest one-two punch of the 80s with lead vocalist and electric guitarist is Steve Perry and Neal Schon of Journey. 

Question 1: Why does “Fast Car” by Tracy Chapman work? Question 2: Are there any other songs without a chorus that have made it big like “Stay” by Lisa Loeb?Jeff Buckley’s “Last Goodbye”. Jeff never repeats a line as it continuously builds up. “Bohemian Rhapsody” doesn’t ever have a chorus, but it's above that distinction. “Hey Jude” does a similar thing as “Stay” in that the only phrase repeated comes at the end of the song and is a lyric brought back from the beginning of the track.Question 3: Are there any covers that you think better fit the song than the original, and what about those covers made them stand out?Question 4: Pink Floyd’s “Money” is in ⅞ time and it feels so natural. Any other odd time signatures in pop music?Question 5: How does being a songwriter work?

On this episode, Dave covers hot takes on The Supremes to James Taylor to Salt-N-Pepper. The Hot Takes are: Hot Take 1: The background vocalists in The Supremes’ “Where Did Our Love Go” sing the hook over and over again while Diana Ross is singing something completely different. On top of that, the same hook is layered beneath for a really cool effect.Hot Take 2: Jump Hold Children’s “Cathedrals” captures the same kind of magical mystery of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah”.Hot Take 3: James Taylor’s guitar playing is never just chords and notes, he plays a part. If you listen to his thumb on his picking hand, it’s always playing the rhythm of the bass drum in the drum set even while he’s playing a riff.Hot Take 4: The shaker in Salt-N-Pepa’s “Push It” is the loudest instrument by far. So many songs from the 70s, 80s, and 90s, have a random instrument that is absurdly loud in the mix.Hot Take 5: Music is made because other music was made before it. So many people write songs after hearing music that came before them. Popular songs typically only work because of the context that came before them. Music always begets more music.

Here are the question Dave address: Is there anything unique or interesting going on in the first 30 seconds of “One Headlight” by The Wallflowers?Isn’t it great that the chorus for “Baker Street” is a saxophone solo? What other songs include one?Why does D’Angelo’s song “Untitled (How Does It Feel)” make my face, how should I say, stank?On “Shadow Days” by John Mayer please explain what is happening musically from 2:20 to 2:34ish?Why does Lady A have such perfect harmonies and what’s behind that?

On this episode, Dave covers hot takes on Diamond Rio, Sheryl Crow, Justin Bieber and Toto. Dave's 5 Hot Takes are:  Hot Take 1: Diamond’s Rio’s “One More Day” is the one song that makes Dave cry every single time he hears it.Hot Take 2: The songwriters behind 90s power ballads deserve more credit for their contributions. Personally playing them on guitar puts them in an entirely new context.Hot Take 3: In Sheryl Crow’s “All I Wanna Do,” the verses are made up of quirky, weird imagery that launches into an airtight chorus which ties it all together and juxtaposes what came before.Hot Take 4: “Love Yourself” by Justin Bieber sounds so simple but was still a massive hit. The way Justin simulates percussion on his guitar keeps the song moving without an actual drum kit. He’s sneaking a rhythm track into a guitar line.Hot Take 5: In Toto’s “Africa,” the chorus vocals are only made up of two different notes until the change at the absolute very end of the chorus.

Hot Take 1: “This Time of Year” is about the nostalgia that accompanies the first cool day of fall. It was written at a Mississippi rest-stop as Kevin and friends broke down on the way to an Ole Miss-LSU football game.Hot Take 2: “Rewind” was Kevin’s attempt at writing something that felt more like a hit. It was about a psychobilly mixtape that Kevin listened to nonstop with a girl he had a crush on at the time. It’s a song about longing for the past and the melancholy associated.Hot Take 3: “Collide” started with the title. Despite the imagery of the title, Kevin couldn’t seem to write the song. Once he heard Bruce Springsteen’s “Secret Garden,” he knew that was the template he wanted.Hot Take 4: “At the Stars” was inspired by a Loudon Wainwright song and a specific girl from Kevin’s past that would lean out the window of his car and yell at the stars while they drove. The song is a youthful anti-conformity anthem written as a protest to those telling Kevin how to live.Hot Take 5: “Lifetime” marked a moment in Kevin’s songwriting journey where he realized he could write fiction and didn’t have to solely rely on his own life for inspiration.

In this episode, we also get to hear Kevin's  hot takes on music ranging from Dolly Parton to The Commodores  to The Killers. Listen now to  these musically fulfilling takes.Hot Take 1: In order to save music, someone needs to bring back modulation. Kevin misses the key changes in popular music.Hot Take 2: The best song ever written with the title “Jolene” isn’t Dolly Parton’s. It’s Ray LaMontagne’s.Hot Take 3: Kevin’s favorite solo ever is in “Easy” by The Commodores.Hot Take 4: Demo-itus is a real thing (picking demo over studio version). There’s something special about that first spark of an original demo recording and the uncertain, authentic sound that comes across.Hot Take 5: The Killers’ “Hot Fuss” is the best debut album by an artist.

On this episode, Dave covers hot takes onThe Red Hot Chili Peppers, Anderson Paak, Young MC and and Dan Seals. Here are the 5 Hot Takes: Hot Take 1: The Red Hot Chili Peppers often stop multiple times in-between songs to regroup onstage as bandmates and appreciate the moment for what it is.Hot Take 2: Anderson Paak has the perfect in-between of half-note/half-rap singing. It’s not sung and it’s not rapped, but it sounds incredible.Hot Take 3: Guns N’ Roses’ “Sweet Child O’ Mine” has more twists and turns and unconventional form than just about any rock hit ever. For example, the guitar intro is only used as the hook for the beginning and only repeats as a chorus.Hot Take 4: One of the best albums of all time for incredible basslines and bass playing is Young MC’s “Stone Cold Rhymin’”. Flea actually guest stars on “Principal’s Office” and appears in the music video.Hot Take 5: Dan Seals’ “I’d Really Love to See You Tonight” has one of Dave’s favorite lyrics of all-time that he realized he’d been quoting wrong for awhile. Perception plays a huge role in the effect music has on us as individuals (Dave likes his version better).

Dave and Lucie discuss Dave's favorite Lucie Silvas tracks. Those favorite Lucie Silvas tracks include:  Dave's Fave 1: “Letters to Ghosts” was written over multiple years with John Green. It’s a message of forgiveness towards your past self and an especially emotionally poignant song for Lucie.Dave's Fave 2: “Black Jeans” might be Lucie’s favorite song on E.G.O. It’s also one that brought JD McPherson and Trent Dabbs into the studio together for the first time.Dave's Fave 3: “How To Lose It All” is Lucie’s exhale moment on-stage. It instantly makes her feel comfortable and like a kid again.Dave's Fave 4: “Everything Looks Beautiful” was everything Lucie’s ever wanted a song to be. She always sings it with John in mind.Dave's Fave 5: “Girls From California” was inspired by Lucie comparing her appearance to others as she walked the streets of L.A. It starts there, but ends as an affirmation of self and individuality.

Today we get to hear Lucie's scolding hot takes on music ranging from Diana Ross to Jack White to Prefab Spout. Here are her hot takes: Hot Take 1: “Chain Reaction” by Diana Ross, written by the Bee Gees, is the motherload of key changes with 8 of them throughout the song.Hot Take 2: “Chain of Fools” by Aretha Franklin is basically one chord the entire song.Hot Take 3: Jack White’s “Take Me With You When You Go” has the craziest tempo change Lucie has heard in awhile. He has his own set of rules and Lucie admires that.Hot Take 4: REM’s “Losing My Religion” has no chorus yet blew up in the pop music world.Hot Take 5: Prefab Sprout’s “The King of Rock ‘N’ Roll” has a chorus with some of the most random but catchy pop lyrics: “hot dog, jumping frog, albuquerque.”

On this episode, Dave covers hot takes on the stresses of being a successful singer/songwriter, Lionel Ritchie, "Sweet Home Alabama", Led Zeppelin and more! Here are the 5 Hot Takes: Hot Take 1: Successful singers and songwriters who wrote their own songs will never be able to enjoy their songs like we enjoy them. When you have created something, you will always see the cracks in it.Hot Take 2: “Say You, Say Me” by Lionel Ritchie is one of Dave's favorite bizarre bridges in pop music history. It jumps 25 bpm in tempo in addition to implementing a weird key change.Hot Take 3: “Sweet Home Alabama” is perfectly executed in every way and what Dave would pick as the southern culture song he is most proud of.Hot Take 4: Dave knew Bobby Brown’s “Humpin’ Around” as a kid and thought Led Zeppelin’s “Dancing Days” stole from it the first time he heard it.Hot Take 5: “Missing You” by Jon Waite is the quintessential pulsing eighth note song.

Dave's favorites of Cory Wong includes:Hot Fav 1: “Golden” began as an instrumental but quickly morphed into a full track when Cory met Cody Fry on the internet, whom he refers to as his “German counterpart.” They became close friends and writing partners, doing both from different parts of the globe.Hot Fav 2: “Limited World” started as an instrumental, but wasn’t doing it completely for Cory. With his decision to add vocals, he sent it to Caleb Hawley and told him to go wild.Hot Fav 3: Cory was fiddling around on guitar, playing Eric Clapton’s “Change the World” when the first version “Meditation” came to him. While playing on Stephen Colbert’s Late Show, Cory and Jon Batiste combined forces to complete the song.Hot Fav 4: “Blackbird” is a song that Cory consistently puts on to calm his mind. He wanted to experiment with acoustic arrangements during quarantine and figured it was a great cover to start with.Hot Fav 5: “Cory Wong” by Vulfpeck solidified Cory as a mainstay in the band. The song was originally from a Vulfpeck tour vlog where Cory and Joe Dart improvised during a jam sesh. They couldn’t think of a name for the track and thus, “Cory Wong” was born.

Cory Wong will wow you with his five hot takes. Here are the hot takes this week: Hot Take 1: Whether or not they release another record, Sugar Ray might have the greatest Spotify top 5 of all-time.Hot Take 2: Smash Mouth’s “Fush Yu Mang” and “Astro Lounge” are two of the greatest produced albums of all-time.Hot Take 3: They might want to revisit the mix on The Doobie Brothers’ “Takin’ It to the Streets”; the bass is ridiculously loud.Hot Take 4: Earth, Wind & Fire could’ve used another take on “September”. The trumpet and bass lines are pretty off at times.Hot Take 5: All of Cory’s favorite guitar tones he’s ever recorded have come from going DI and using plugins, not amps.Find out more from Cory Wong at www.corywongmusic.com. Find more from Dave Barnes at DaveBarnes.com. American Songwriter Podcast Network

On this episode, Dave covers hot takes on Red Hot Chili Peppers, Belinda Carlisle, Phil Collins and more! This episodes's hot take are:Hot Take 1: The basslines to “You Give Love A Bad Name” by Bon Jovi and “Heaven Is A Place On Earth” by Belinda Carlisle are almost identical. Hot Take 2: Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “Soul to Squeeze” eventually devolves into Anthony Kiedis singing literal gibberish, and it still sounds good.Hot Take 3: Dave misses the more eclectic and experimental albums from iconic artists like Stevie Wonder, Elton John, and The Doobie Brothers.Hot Take 4: Phil Collins has one of Dave’s favorite career stories of all-time. Hot Take 5: George Michael’s “Freedom”, Jeff Buckley’s “Last Goodbye”, and Vampire Weekend’s “Harmony Hall” all share a very specific rhythm at different points from different instruments in each song. American Songwriter Podcast Network

Here are Dave's Faves: Fave 1: “Human”Fave 2: “Blue Skies” Fave 3: “Without You Now” Fave 4: “Lost” Fave 5: “Indiana”   American Songwriter Podcast Network

On this episode, Dave and Jon McLaughlin cover Jon's 5 hottest takes on music. Hot Takes include: Hot Take 1: "Don't Get Around Much Anymore" written by Duke Ellington and Bob Russell is a classic standard that is the perfect example of what Dennis Herring calls a great song: "a happy melody with sad lyrics." Hot Take 2: Go West's "The King of Wishful Thinking" has the greatest chorus of all time.Hot Take 3 (&4): Billy Joel's "New York State of mind is a master class in 1 to the Major 3/7 progression.Hot Take 4: "Georgia" performed by Ray Charles and Sublime's "Santeria" also have the same dramatic chord change from the 1 to 3/7, and evoke that same extreme emotion. Hot Take 5: "Come By Me" by Harry Connick Jr. is the best example of bridging the gap between instrumentalism and extremely catchy verses.  American Songwriter Podcast Network

On this episode, Dave covers hot takes on Christina Aguilera, Dawes, Elton John and Coldplay.  His hot takes include: Hot Take 1: In Christina Aguilera’s “What A Girl Wants”, the chorus starts with the end of the phrase, while the middle of the chorus starts with the beginning of the phrase.Hot Take 2: Taylor Goldsmith from Dawes is one of the best lyricists of this generation.Hot Take 3: Elton John’s “Rocket Man” has an unconventional double strum guitar pattern that juxtaposes well with the musical thinking of 2020, which is centered on perfection and fine-tuning.Hot Take 4: Dave’s favorite key change in all of rock music comes in Def Leppard’s “Armageddon It”.Hot Take 5: “Yellow” by Coldplay and “I Can’t Make You Love Me” by Bonnie Raitt both have chord changes in the last waning seconds of the songs that catch you off guard. American Songwriter Podcast Network

From examining a song that took 6 years to write, to a song that took 15 minutes, Drew explains his perspective and how its transpires into a complete song, from lyrics, melody to how the instrumentation supports what Drew was trying to convey. Dave's FavsDave's Fav 1: “Nothing But Trouble” took Drew around 6 years to write, with multiple versions and revisions before the final release.Dave's Fav 2: Drew wrote “Live Forever” in fifteen minutes as he contemplated his sister and her kids moving to Panama for work. It’s also his favorite song he has ever written.Dave's Fav 3: Drew wanted “Family” to sound like growing up in a big family, as he did. Some words he uses to describe the tone of the song include “cacophonous”, “chaotic”, “loud”, in addition to “beautiful” and “hopeful”.Dave's Fav 4: “You’ll Always Be My Girl” was written as a promise to Drew’s 3-year old daughter. He also wrote it by simply fooling around on the guitar and freestyling lyrics.

On this episode, Dave and Drew Holcomb cover Drew's hot takes on music. Hot takes include: 1.) Willie Nelson is one of the greatest jazz singers of all-time.2.) Percy Sledge’s “When a Man Loves a Woman” is the best male vocal performance of all time.3.)  Sinéad O'Connor’s “Nothing Compares 2 U” is Drew’s favorite recording of all time.4.) When it came out, Ray LaMontagnes’ “God Willin’ & The Creek Don’t Rise” was Drew’s least favorite LaMontagne record, and it has since become his absolute favorite of Ray’s.5.) If Drew could have anyone’s career in music history, it would be Tom Petty’s.Follow Dave Barnes on social media at @DaveBarnesMusic. Check out our network and more content from AmericanSongwriter.com.

On this episode, Dave covers hot takes on Boyz II Men, Earth Wind and Fire and a hot take on lyrical content of songs. His hot takes include the following: Boys II Men, End of the Road. They do not sing the same melody on the verses.One of the best bass lines of all time, Spacehog - In The Meantime.September by Earth Wind and Fire speeds up 10 BPM in 3 and 1/2 minutesThe rhythm guitar on the cover of “Got to Get You Into My Life” by Earth Wind and Fire body slamming the pocket on this iconic shuffle.Sometimes the simplest lyrical moments in a song are the most profound.Follow Dave Barnes on social media at @DaveBarnesMusic. Check out our network and more content from AmericanSongwriter.com. American Songwriter Podcast Network

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